Humphrey Lyttelton, the first presenter of Jazz Record Requests

The BBC programme Jazz Record Requests was first broadcast on 12th December 1964, and will have a celebratory, retrospective programme on December 6th at 5pm on BBC Radio 3.

Listeners were asked to send in memories of the show, and these are cleverly woven into the story of its history. The broadcast date also marks a sad anniversary: the first anniversary of the death of the irreplaceable Stan Tracey.

Treats in store include a blue-blowing kazoo, a washboard, Miles Davis’ Milestones, John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble, a live recording of the Ellington band at Newport, Stan Tracey…plus the voices of all the seven people, each with their own distinctive broadcasting style, who have presented the show during its 50 years: Humphrey Lyttelton, Ken Sykora, Steve Race, Peter Clayton, Charles Fox, Geoffrey Smith – who makes a guest appearance – and the current presenter, Alyn Shipton, who also acknowledges assistance in preparing the programme that he received from the National Sound Archive.